DFW Travel Advice

[ST911]

Texans, your kind assistance for a northerner please.

I have some upcoming travel to DFW and was wondering about must-sees while there. I searched and read previous threads about firearms-related attractions, but I was wondering about other non-firearm related M4C member recommendations for eating and sight seeing that could be done in a couple of evenings and a short afternoon.

No clubs, nightlife, etc. No bars unless the food is awesome and they're something pretty special. What should I not leave the DFW area without seeing? Time is short, motivation is not. I'm flying into DFW, will have a car, and am willing to go exploring.

Thanks in advance.

[SeriousStudent]

What types of foods do you favor?

If you are near downtown, many visitors enjoy the Sixth Floor Museum, which is about the JFK assasination. While i nthe neighborhood, you could make a quick visit to Reunion Tower.

More to come.

[mdoan300]

Bone Daddy's House of Smoke has good BBQ and great scenery.
Fogo de Chao, if you've never been to a Brazilian steakhouse.
III Forks, Del Frisco, and Bob's Steak and Chophouse are a few great steakhouses.

[SeriousStudent]

Indeed, Bone Daddy's has excellent food. The wait staff is a definite plus.

[pmarc]

Bone Daddy's House of Smoke has good BBQ and great scenery.
Fogo de Chao, if you've never been to a Brazilian steakhouse.
III Forks, Del Frisco, and Bob's Steak and Chophouse are a few great steakhouses.

I'm brazilian, live in Brazil and never been to Fogo de Chão.
It's too upscale for me. I've heard it's also the best BBQ to be had, it might be different from the usual american BBQ.

[ST911]

How's the holocaust museum?

[TriumphRat675]

DFW is a good place to live and work but doesn't have much in the way of tourist hot spots.

The 6th Floor Museum and the area right around there (the West End) are neat.

If you don't have a hotel yet, the Hotel Belmont is right outside of downtown. The area is gentrifying, but the hotel is very cool and the pool area has absolutely the best view in the city. There is a good "upscale BBQ" place next to it called Smoke that has a great brunch and good dinner and lunch food.

There is a cool restaurant called Bolsa in Oak Cliff, another gentrifying area. The food is great and the drinks are tremendous. Both Smoke and Bolsa are a little off the beaten path but worth it.

Slightly ignoring your "no nightlife" stipulation, you should check out the bar at the Ritz Carlton if you get a chance. Nice bartenders and the people who hang out there have to be seen to be believed. You've never seen that many people with that much money and that little sense before. Also, hookers, who you get to see try to get picked up by dudes who look like a tarted up version of Christopher Lloyd from Back to the Future. Bar none, the best people watching in the city.

[SeriousStudent]

How's the holocaust museum?

It is worth a visit. Through the end of next week, they are having a special exhibition on Anne Frank.

It's also downtown, if that is of any help.

[sharkey00]

well it is freaking hot now so be prepared. Aquarium downtown is nice.
Lots of eateries off McKinney Avenue corridor. 6th floor museum is cool. Bone Daddy's is ok and has nice scenery. Better Q can be found at Hard 8 in Coppell.

If you have a car, try heading west - Lone Star Track if you like the ponies. Six Flags in Arlington if you have the kids. Rangers at the Ballpark. Fort Worth/Cowtown is my neck of the woods and you can visit Sundance Square downtown and Try Riscky's BBQ, Mi Cocina for Meskin.

Don't forget the Stockyards where you can catch a Rodeo on Frior Sat night and eat at some decent places. Amon Carter Museum is worth a stop.

TRE train will take you from Dallas to Cowtown. Rails are safe to ride as long as you don't head south of downtown Dallas.

Shopping? Try Northpark Mall.

[ST911]

UPDATE...

Thanks all for the advice, both in the thread and back-channel. Back from DFW area, and had a great visit. I didn't have as much free time as hoped, but still found opportunities to explore.

Arrival at DFW was on time and easy. After getting my bag I found the shuttle to the rental car complex. Got on a full bus at the same time as another gal, and three local fellows stood up to offer their seat to her. You have to like that. Folks at DFW and car rental were very pleasant and super patient.

Navigation around DFW was easy with preloaded GPS and travel advice. Googlemaps was correct and reliable.

Dealey Plaza was a much smaller scale than I expected. After some amateur trajectory analysis, I don't get what all the controversy is about. A very helpful street person named Sherman told me every conspiracy theory about the assassination and provided his thoughts. He was not particularly informative, but it was the most entertainment I've ever gotten for $2.00. (Travel advice: Always carry a few "bum-bucks" in your pocket outside your wallet.)

6th St Museum was decent. It was posted for your "30.06" law, high visibility in several places. Security was underwhelming.

What's with the four-sided JFK memorial behind Old Red? If it's symbolic, it's symbolism isn't readily apparent. It looks like someone stopped halfway through construction.

Holocaust Museum was decent. Having been to several others it was a little underwhelming, but it was well done for a small endeavor. The Anne Frank exhibit was disappointing, consisting of only a few story boards along the walls of the theater. They told the story well though. (Go to the real Anne Frank house if you can. It's worth it.) Holocaust Museum was not posted with any CCW-signage.

Tried for the Dallas Zoo, but didn't have enough time and had to abort. Almost had a MVA at the Popeyes nearby, though, so the period was not without note.

Met the nicest 7-11 clerk I've ever seen in Frisco(?), who spoke fluent English, was intelligent, and articulate. Also visited the nicest, cleanest, most well-stocked Walmart I've ever seen in the US not too far from there. No "People of Walmart" inside, but a lot full of BMWs, Mercedes, Range Rovers, and Audis.

Good meet-up with SeriousStudent, and a great dinner at Texas "Land and Cattle." Recommend the smoked sirloin. Menu tops out at 12oz, but they will cut man-size portions for $1.00 more for each ounce. SeriousStudent makes a good dinner companion. He also drives like I do, which is a plus.

Ate at a few other places too. Names escape me, but a couple were recommended by you all. Good stuff.

Texas has a disproportionately high population of beautiful women. Thanks for that. I am informed that you keep the others in Lubbock, but the source may be an instigator.

Did I mention that I don't get the whole Kennedy thing? Perhaps I oversimplify, but what's the issue? ~22deg decline, <200ft, ~10mph in line target. Seriously? Why not shoot down Houston at a closing target?

Spent time with a bunch of TX cops. The overwhelming majority give me great confidence in the future of LE, and are obviously serving you Texans well. Good to meet a bunch of conservative administrators, too.

Departure from DFW was as easy as arrival. Airline ticket agent was friendly, and completely unconcerned with checked firearms. A TSA agent was called over for hand-screening, since your terminal didn't have a screening machine. The TSA screener was as nice as could be while screening my bag. Guns in a typical case, loaded mags in mag pouches, assorted other life support gear. No problems. TSA checkpoint screeners had the same disposition, even after my declination of the xray and during my pat-down. No problems with my carry on or pocket-clutter, including a well stocked BOK, various Surefires (E2D, others), and assorted multi-use items.

Thanks to the M4C Texas contingent for good advice, and a special thanks to SeriousStudent for being a good host.

Recommended trip.

[mdoan300]

Glad to hear you enjoyed your stay in DFW! If that Walmart is in Frisco off Preston Rd, then I live a couple of miles away from there -- I would have loved to join you guys for dinner/beer had I known you were going to be that close in the area! I kid around about living on the good side or bad side of Frisco, but the reality is that all of Frisco is GTG!

[SeriousStudent]

UPDATE...


Good meet-up with SeriousStudent, and a great dinner at Texas "Land and Cattle." Recommend the smoked sirloin. Menu tops out at 12oz, but they will cut man-size portions for $1.00 more for each ounce. SeriousStudent makes a good dinner companion. He also drives like I do, which is a plus.


........


In the words of Ron White, the cops were stopping everybody that was driving on that sidewalk. That's profiling!

And profiling is wrong. :D

Many thanks for the observations and advice over dinner. I enjoyed picking your brain.

And mdoan300 is correct, if you have a bad meal in Frisco it's likely your own fault.